Two people were arrested over the weekend during demonstrations coinciding with the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. more ›

To add to the weekend's transit woes, the IMF/World Bank's annual spring meetings begin today. And you know what that means -- street closures and parking restrictions! more ›

When WMATA announced yesterday that it would close Farragut West and McPherson Square and shut down Blue and Orange line service at Metro Center over the entire Columbus Day weekend, we thought it would be messy. It's arguably the busiest section of the system. There's sports games, concerts, and a lot more people in town that weekend who will want to get around. Plus, there are a large number of Washingtonians who work in offices in the center of town who just don't take Columbus Day off and would normally use Metro to get into and home from work on Monday. Oh, right, and the World Bank's annual meeting. Oops. more ›

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman gave final approval to a $13.7 million class-action settlement in the lawsuit brought by individuals who were arrested in 2000 while protesting near the near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The Post reports that arrested individuals deemed eligible will receive $18,000 and have the arrest expunged from the record; the settlement also requires police to undergo further training. Currently, 464 of the approximately 700 individuals who were arrested on April 15, 2000 have come forward to make a claim. more ›

UPDATE: Finally, MPD has confirmed that the package is not hazardous, but officers remain on the scene. Traffic has been a mess down there, so if you're getting behind the wheel anytime soon, avoid the area at all costs. more ›

Was I a little harsh in my assessment yesterday morning that the IMF/World Bank protesters had gone soft? Nah. The AP reports that eight people were arrested early Saturday morning in an incident at the Washington Circle Hotel in West End. One of the protesters was charged with felony assault of a police officer after cops were called at around 1 a.m. to quell the group, which had entered the hotel and began chanting anti-World Bank slogans. But other than that minor skirmish, this year's vintage of the World Bank protests appeared to be as placid as a possibly pregnant panda. more ›

It's time for the annual spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank Board of Governors this weekend. You know this drill -- street closures and parking restrictions will be in effect all around the World Bank starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. and lasting until 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 25. more ›

A pair of large police and emergency responses to report going on downtown today. more ›

Earlier today the World Bank announced that one of its D.C.-based employees had preliminarily tested positive for swine flu, but it turns out that should the case be confirmed by a second test, it wouldn't actually be counted as the District's first case. World Bank spokesperson David Theis confirmed that while the employee in question did enter the Bank's offices while sick on April 20, the employee technically lives in Maryland, and so this case would be counted toward the state's tally of confirmed swine flu patients. Per the relevant protocols, the World Bank is in contact with the D.C. Department of Health on this case, but ultimately, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will the one to keep track of it. We're still waiting on a call back from the Maryland health department to see if we can find out which county the World Bank employee lives in—they're having an understandably busy day over there.
more ›

A World Bank employee here in Washington has been preliminarily diagnosed with a case of swine flu, Bloomberg is reporting. The employee in question had reportedly traveled on business in Mexico between April 14 and April 18. An email sent to local World Bank offices said that the employee has already recovered from the illness, but colleagues who were in contact with him when he was in the D.C. office on April 20 have been asked to work from home for the time being. A second test to confirm the swine flu diagnosis is reportedly underway. UPDATE: Official statement released by the World Bank is after the jump. more ›

Yesterday a group of the world's brightest economists and financial leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., for spring conference meetings at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Truly, these fiscal Cassandras were the only people who predicted the current global financial crisis. more ›

As Martin mentioned this morning, the spring meetings of the IMF/World Bank Board of Governors are this weekend, bringing with them the usual street closures and parking restrictions. We've posted the full list of closures below in case you need to refer to them this weekend, but before you read those, we thought you might enjoy a taste of the press release sent around to every local media outlet in town this morning by some of the folks who are organizing this year's protests. NB: the protesters won't reveal exactly where they'll be until early Saturday morning. Also, we're told to expect the protests to include upwards of ... 30 people. Gotta say, the promise of a group of protesters roughly the size of a second grade class doesn't make for a very impressive announcement.

An autonomous group of D.C. residents will be taking action to disrupt the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings on Saturday, April 25th. Angered by world leaders' handling of the economic crisis and the G20's recent decision to empower the IMF with $1.1 trillion in spite of their longstanding track record of ignoring basic human rights and environmental concerns, this group will engage in a variety of actions including traffic blockades, street theater, and roving street occupations. more ›

It's that time of year when the world's finance ministers gather in Washington and tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets to demand more transparency and accountability from the World Bank and IMF. Oh wait, that's so 2000. These days, the annual meeting of the two financial institutions doesn't draw much of a protest crowd, though the city still does shut off streets around Farrugut West just in case we all decide to spontaneously rise up against global debt and poverty. Keep the closures, which include some pedestrian restrictions, in mind over the long weekend. more ›

It's that time again, the best comments of the previous week. It was a bountiful week, with World Bank protests, Metro employees chowing down, and new dog park regulations Read on, and register if you haven't! ----- Everybody had something to say about D.C. switching to taxi meters. shawndc: I'm glad Fenty had the balls to stand up to the Taxi commission and move ahead with meters. Let's hope they can get it up and... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Remember last week, when we were wondering what kind of a plan a criminal had after stealing a tanker truck hauling gasoline in Baltimore? The truck was later found parked on South Capitol Street in Southwest D.C., drained of about 7,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel fuel. This morning we learn that the missing gasoline was found at a Chevron station in Southeast Washington, which police are now investigating. Weekend Protests Saw... more ›

The annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund begin on Friday, and the city will see a number of changes in traffic patterns and road closures this weekend as a result. Here's what you should plan around: Streets closed to vehicles: Beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 19, until 2 a.m. on Sunday, October 21 * Pennsylvania Avenue, NW between 17th Street and 20th Street, NW * 19th Street, NW... more ›

>> A federal administrative appeals court has struck down the District's drug-pricing control law, saying it violates federal patent law. The ruling is considered a major win for the pharmaceutical industry. [WaPo] >> The city has agreed on a settlement of $1 million to about 120 protesters who were improperly detained by police during demonstrations in D.C. against the invasion of Iraq, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 2002. [AP via... more ›

No matter how you feel about a city known for its hippie culture or holier-than-thou aging baby boomers, you sort of have to love Takoma Park, Md. Commonly referred to as "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" or "The Berkeley of the East", the commuter suburb right on the border of the District is not only charmingly beautiful, but the people who live there wear their political proclivities on their collective sleeves so seriously they... more ›

>> If you're in the market for a Crown Victoria, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has a few to sell. [WTOP] >>It looks like Paul Wolfowitz might finally soon be gone from the World Bank. But President Bush isn't about to let his departure spoil an otherwise solid 12-year run during which the bank's president has had the word "wolf" somewhere in their name. Obvious replacements are Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Wolfgang Puck... more ›

When Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty announced last week that he'd chosen Cathy Lanier, a 16-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, to replace Charles Ramsey atop the police force, local media didn't do much more than throw together a few details on her history and her ideas for fighting crime in the District. The City Paper, though, started digging. The paper trail they uncovered on Lanier makes for relatively interesting reading by City Paper standards, though... more ›

As you know, DCist is a hungry media powerhouse. So, when we moved into our marbled Hall of Justice-like complex in Dupont Down Under, we insisted that our lair contain a state-of-the-art cafeteria. According to the internal memo sent to "All DCists," we included a cafeteria because we wanted our staff of thousands to have quick access to a reasonably priced meal. But you've got to realize that that's only partially true. Even though... more ›

Happy Hot as Hell Tuesday, everyone. Yes, it's going to 100 degrees today, with a heat index up around 110. The best advice is to stay inside whenever possible during what we like to call our Heat Emergency, but if you have to be outdoors, the National Weather Service advises drinking plenty of water, planning activities outside for the morning or evening and wearing loose, light-colored clothing and a hat. It's unfortunate that the current... more ›

At 8 a.m. on any given weekday, just around the corner from the Foggy Bottom Metro station you’ll likely spot four or five bike messengers huddled around a red Ford Econoline van. Each morning they meet with groggy eyes to rummage through wrapped packages like slightly under-enthusiastic children on Christmas morning. Brought in via Dulles International Airport, the packages are addressed to locations all over the District. This is the first run of many for these couriers. more ›

Thankfully, Mother Nature will be going easier on us this week than she did on Saturday, which saw record rainfall for the dry region. Our friends at Capital Weather are telling us that spare Tuesday and Sunday, it should be a great spring week. New D.C. Public Library Likely: Though many District activists continue to push for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library to be salvaged, the Post reported yesterday that a new... more ›

It was in April 2000 that tens of thousands of anti-globalization protestors marched the streets of the District, protesting the secretive meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and the policies that emerged from them. Police presence was heavy, given a nervous sense that Washington could go the route of Seattle, which just months prior had been the scene of an epic battle between protestors and police that had provoked an imposition of... more ›

Good morning D.C., and happy Earthday Eve (if that's a thing). It looks like Mother Nature will be providing plenty of mud in which to celebrate the observance: the weekend forecast is for rain, rain and more rain. Md. Gets Electricity Rate Relief: WTOP reports that Governor Ehrlich has reached an agreement with Baltimore Gas & Electric to forestall the 72% rate hikes that had been looming for Maryland utility consumers. Customers opting into the... more ›

If you're pouring one out for your boys at tonight's happy hour, give pause for Kim Ward. It's Ward's Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran that has set aside Georgetown's former Staples store for some face melting art exhibits in the past few months (that small Post Secret thing, for example). more ›

We were a bit alarmed with a tipster wrote to us that "there is a huge freaking fire burning in front of the World Bank. Plumes of smoke, people running, the whole enchilada." D.C. government's emergency alert system has issued two alerts, one reporting a "Man hole cover explosion at 18th & G St., NW." and a follow-up sent minutes later reporting "Several street closures surrounding area of man hole cover explosion." After snooping around... more ›

Today will be partly cloudy in the morning then clearing, with highs around 80. more ›

As you may be well aware, protesters are descending on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund campus near the White House this weekend to protest the meetings of the Group of Seven. According to Reuters, economic officials are focusing on two things: high oil prices (and how they may be here for the long-run) and China's stubbornness to revalue the yuan. And U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow is expected to be pressured "to cut the U.S. budget deficit and lift household savings." more ›